Harrogate's foodbank appeal continues after summer holiday spike

Alexander Beard

A vital lifeline for people across the district is continuing to call for support after supplies were almost exhausted.

Earlier this month the Harrogate District Foodbank appealed for donations as food and other essential supplies dwindled.

Thanks to support from residents it has been able to continue offering support but further help is needed says Lucy Stewart of the HDFB.

She said: “We have definitely seen an increase over the last 10 days, the response has been great and the large amount of donations has been amazing to see come in.

“It will still take a good few weeks with these donations still coming in before we are back up to the levels we need in order to keep on going. “

She added: “We are out of the danger zone in some respects.

“We are no longer at the point that we don’t have enough food to open if we had a busy week. If we didn’t have the increase in donations we would have been struggling to open, we would have to spend what little finance we have to do so.”

Nationally foodbanks across the country, run by the Trussell Trust, see an increase over the summer holidays.

Many families caring for children over the holiday will need support as they have to fund an extra five meals a week, normally provided through their school lunch.

However according to the foodbank this summer has been the first where usage has increased in Harrogate, and large donations received in the autumn and Christmas period, alongside others, were stretched thin.

The food bank say increased usage nationally has been linked to changes in benefit system, in areas such as Harrogate where Universal Credit has been introduced.

Although figures are currently still being compiled, HDFB estimate hundreds of extra people will be supplied with food, compared to the 2017-2018 period which stood at 2,069.